Black Sea Cruise


Monday June 14 – Odessa, Ukraine Built by Catherine the Great, this beautiful city has a more Mediterranean style. Buildings have a mixture of Art Nouveau, Renaissance and Classical. With over 1 million people, it’s Ukraine’s 3rd largest city with a lovely harbor. Our morning tour gave us the opportunity to learn about Odessa’s history as well as visit some 19th century palaces. Years ago, people were given large plots of land and expected to build their houses. Since they had lots of land, many of them built beautiful “petite” palaces and just as beautiful 2nd buildings next door which were (and still used today) as apartment houses. The same architect who designed the beautiful Odessa Opera House designed the first palace we visited. It was formerly owned by Count M Tolstoy (the writer’s family). Our next visit was to the Palace of Count Novikov now known as the Russian and Ukraine Literature Museum. Each room was beautifully decorated and housed original manuscripts and personal belongings of Pushkin, Bunin, Brodsky to name a few. To top off this interesting tour, we were treated to a glass of champagne and enjoyed a recital of classical music in the beautiful Golden Hall. Most everyone is pleasantly surprised by Odessa. It has wide tree-lined boulevards, well-kept buildings of yellow, white or salmon color and no litter on the streets. People take pride in their city and themselves. They stop to greet one another and even the tourist if we look lost. We like this port.

Tuesday – June 15 – Sevastopol – Also in the Ukraine but has a very different personality. It is the main seaport on the Crimean Peninsula. The Grafskaja Quay (boardwalk) was built in 1783 with beautiful white marble columns and a lovely park filled with roses now in bloom. As an important naval fortress, you can see lots of military ships in the harbor (even a Russian sub). Today we are heading into the countryside to Upensky Monastery. They know it was built into the mountain long before 1400’s but the exact age isn’t known. The church is a cave with a natural stone alter. A legend talks about the beautiful icon of the Virgin Mary housed in a small chapel. Three times it has been stolen and each time somehow it has returned to the same exact place. A Monk opens a small chapel for us to go inside to see the icon. Because of such a small place, we have to wait our turn. Most of our group members are already walking down to the main gate as the last of us are finally inside the chapel. There are 3 local women with 5 or 6 children also inside. A place of silence and reverence. The ladies and children begin to sing. WOW! What beautiful, angelic singing. It was truly a blessing to have had this experience. Sometimes it is worth being last.

We made our way to visit the Khan’s Palace known as the Palace of Gardens. Built in the 1500’s by slaves from Turkey and Iran, it was the home of the Crimean Khanate. They built a moat, walls with stalls for vendors, gardens (each with a different fountain), receptions rooms, and of course a building for his harem. It was said that the “Great” Khan did not have a heart – or that his heart was made of stone. One day, a young girl was brought into the harem. His heart jumped for joy and he fell in love. Within a year the girl died from loneliness being so far from her family. When she died, the great Khan wept for the first and only time of his life. He had a fountain built in her memory – now known as “Fountain of Tears”. Water drips from the top out of a small “eye” one drop at a time. It continues and splits into two areas “their hearts” in the middle of the fountain and eventually goes into a small pool. It was made famous by Pushkin’s poem.

Sorry for not telling you, but I left town again. I’m onboard Regent Seven Seas ship, Mariner, as host for 30 passengers. We set sail Friday, June 11th from Istanbul for the Black Sea and will disembark June 21 in Athens. After over a four hour delayed departure from JFK, Delta finally got us to Istanbul late Friday afternoon. I was able to get an email advising our late arrival to the tour company we had arranged a private tour. What a feeling of relief you get when you walk through those last doors after customs, look through the huge crowd of people and see the little white sign with your name on it. Holding it is a young man with a big, friendly smile. He extends his hand and says “Miss Metz, Welcome to Istanbul”. Ugur is a knowledgeable, personable young man just starting his own in-bound tour company. His love and enthusiasm for his city is refreshing as he gives us a wonderful narration. Ugur is definitely on my list of special people to look after guests traveling to Istanbul. Literally this is where east meets west. One side of the city is in Europe and across the water you are in Asia. Istanbul has grown since my last visit 10 years ago. It’s much more modern, and things seem to be on an upswing. It’s 4PM, the ship doesn’t leave until 11PM tonight so we take advantage of the little time available. We visit the Blue Mosque from the outside. It’s “call to prayer” time and we will have to wait 20 – 30 minutes to visit the interior. Instead we walk over to St Sophia’s Church and to our luck it’s still open. A brief stop for some Turkish coffee and we head to the ship to board just in time for dinner. It’s a clear sky, a slight breeze and the city is lit up as we set sail at 11PM. I realize we’ve been up for days and suddenly the need for sleep overcomes me.
Saturday – June 12 -This morning we wake up to the port of Nesseburg, Bulgaria. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its abundance of historic buildings including monuments dating back from the 5th century. Settled the beginning of the 5th century BC, it has been an important trading center along the Black Sea Coast. We decided to take the noontime tour rather than the 8AM, allowing for a leisurely morning of coffee delivered in our cabin to be enjoyed on our balcony. It’s a tough job, but I’ll do what I can. The afternoon walking tour through this picturesque seaside town gives us look. We pass no less than a dozen churches – only one we actually visit inside. Many of them are Orthodox, but one didn’t even look like a church from the outside. During the times when the Turks were in power, they finally gave permission for Christians to build a small church – no higher than a man standing on a horse. The building was sunk into the ground about 10’ to compensate. From the outside it looks like a grain storage building, one small window and what looks like a silo at the back side – from the inside this is the alter. What it lacks from the outside, the paintings, frescos and wood carvings certainly make up on the inside. Our tour also takes us about 30 minutes outside the city where we have a wine tasting of 6 different kinds of wine. Two whites, one rose and three reds. They were actually surprisingly good. I purchased a few bottles of the rose to give as “thank you” gifts to staff onboard the ship. This evening is Captain’s welcome party. One big difference from many of the other ships – NO FORMAL NIGHTS. Every night is “elegant casual”.
Sunday – June 13 – Another beautiful day in the Black Sea as we visit Constanta, Romania. This morning gives us a chance to relax, do some paperwork and organize the group’s cocktail party. Make some calls to officially welcome everyone. This afternoon’s tour of Romania’s 2nd largest city after Bucharest begins at the National History and Archeology Museum which traces ancient Greek colonies of Histria, Tomis and Callatis from 2500 years ago through to modern day. Our afternoon also includes a wine tasting and folkloric show giving us an idea of the customs and traditions in various regions of Romania. The wine? Mmm – let’s just say we didn’t have to buy any from this selection. We are about to set sail with a beautiful sunset in store for all of us.